We were under the table before we knew what was happening. One moment a military band was parading out of the Washington Hilton’s cavernous ballroom; hundreds of journalists and government officials, including two dozen of my Atlantic colleagues and myself dressed in our best or borrowed black tie, had turned to our arugula salads.
The next moment, armed agents—maybe Secret Service, maybe police, maybe hotel guards; it was hard to tell from where we were huddled under a tablecloth—were pushing their way through mounds of people, climbing over chairs, rushing to the stage, where President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump just moments before had been seated.
Trays of plates and tableware fell to the floor with a crash and they screamed “Get down! Get down! Get under the table! Abajo! Abajo! ” There was at least one popping sound from the north end of the ballroom. People by the ballroom doors started to duck. Then plainclothes security rushed through the door.
Trump sat onstage for several seconds after the shots, watching people dive under tables before he was swarmed by his heavily armed security.
Soon after that, the Secret Service said the shooting had occurred near a security screening station, in a lower lobby outside the ballroom. One person was in custody, the agency said in a statement. “The president and the first lady are safe along with all protectees.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as we get more information.
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